US and Iran end Muscat talks as Tehran warns of negotiations under military pressure

Iranian and American diplomats began indirect talks in Muscat on Friday, which comes amid mounting US military pressure on Tehran and a delayed start to the negotiations.

Iran's Tasnim news agency reported by 11:00 GMT that the second round of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi had concluded.

Following a two-hour delay, the talks formally got underway, marking the first engagement between Iranian and American officials since the US launched a series of strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June last year.

The precise agenda has not been disclosed, with Washington and Tehran entering the discussions with differing priorities and reports that the talks will be indirect.

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who reportedly led negotiations on the other side, have insisted that talks would be more comprehensive and deal with issues such as Iran's ballistic missile arsenal, as well as the nuclear file.

Iranian media quoted a source later on Friday saying that the talks would focus exclusively on nuclear issues, adding that Iran categorically rejects the principle of zeroing uranium enrichment as discussions center around mechanisms to reduce the concentration of enriched uranium inside Iran.

Oman said Foreign Minister Al-Busaidi held separate discussions with the two delegations to prepare for the resumption of talks under the appropriate conditions, amid talk of a walk-out by the American group.

Later, Oman held a second round of discussions with the Iranian delegation headed by Araghchi and met again with Witkoff's team.

The talks ended shortly before 14:00 GMT, Iranian media said, with Araghchi saying the discussions were "a good start", saying "Our points of view were conveyed to each other, which is very important".

The developments come amid the movement of US military equipment and naval assets in the region, while the American delegation was reportedly joined by the US Central Command chief, whose presence reportedly rattled the Iranians.

Tehran objected to these developments, claiming it had pushed the talks beyond a conventional diplomatic framework and that linking negotiations with displays of hard power was intended to strengthen bargaining leverage, according to Iranian media.

It described the reported presence of a senior US commander alongside the negotiating team as a relatively unprecedented signal of "negotiations under the shadow of a credible threat", aimed at "shaping the calculations of the opposing side", but that Tehran would not budge from its demands under military pressure.

Iran's Nour News agency, which is close to former Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, reported that the talks were launched under a mandate limited to the nuclear file but that "simultaneous indicators suggest a blending of the diplomatic track with field pressure".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously insisted that for the talks to be productive, they would need to include Iran’s ballistic missile programme, its support for regional proxy groups, and what he described as “the treatment of their own people”, in reference to Tehran’s violent crackdown on demonstrations.

However, The New York Times later reported that Washington had agreed to exclude the issue of regional actors from the agenda, "with the goal of coming up with a framework for a deal".

Tehran has maintained that the talks would focus strictly on nuclear issues, while seeking to prevent any expansion of the discussions to its ballistic missile arsenal or domestic unrest, presenting significant obstacles with the threat of a wider regional war still looming.

On Thursday, White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt said US President Donald Trump was awaiting the outcome of the talks to determine whether an agreement could be reached, stressing that he had "many options available to him, in addition to diplomacy".

Trump has, in recent weeks, threatened Iran with military action over nationwide anti-government protests, as the US continues to bolster its military presence in the region.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran was participating in the talks "with the aim of reaching a fair and mutually acceptable understanding".

Araghchi warned that Iran remained in “full readiness to defend the country’s sovereignty and national security against any excessive demands or adventurism” by the US.

Nonetheless, some international leaders expressed cautious optimism, including Turkey, which was originally supposed to host the talks until Tehran objected, insisting they be held in Oman.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he believed "the parties want to make room for diplomacy", adding that a direct war "was not the solution".

Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Iran to "truly enter talks", warning of the consequences of further military escalation.